He looked back at the phone. The map had changed. It was now a first-person view of the aisle of the bus. But it wasn't a camera feed. It was rendered in pixel art—chunky, green-and-black blocks. The bus seats were pillars of grey stone. The other passengers were silent, blinking NPCs with question marks over their heads.
He started playing for real. He traded a memory of his grandmother's laugh for a blanket when the bus AC went arctic. He traded the feeling of his first bike ride for a full canteen. He traded the name of his first pet for a fire source when the bus broke down for three hours in the dark. google no wifi game
This wasn't a game. This was a transaction. He looked back at the phone
But he could still feel the sun on his skin. He still knew his name. But it wasn't a camera feed